1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a system for vending game contents and a method thereof. More specifically, the present invention relates to a system for vending game contents including a game vending machine, which commercializes and vends game contents, to vend the game contents to a user that searches the game contents stored in the game vending machine and makes a predetermined payment for the game contents and a method thereof.
2. Description of the Related Art
Currently, a mobile phone, as a personal communication device, has various functions in various types of models. The mobile phone already includes a high pixel camera phone, a digital multimedia broadcasting (DMB) receiving function, etc. In particular, the mobile phone already has a file viewer or a text viewer that is included in an existing smart phone, etc. Further, the mobile phone having functions such as a moving picture player, an MP3 player, etc., are also widely used as a representative mobile terminal. In recent, a portable multimedia player (PMP) includes a wireless communication device such as an HSDPA modem or a wireless LAN device in addition to a moving picture and music reproducing function, a text viewer function, a navigation function, etc., and an Internet browser in conjunction with a predetermined software program, such that it has wireless accessing function via Internet. Recently, i-Pod touch available from Apple Co., etc., includes various moving pictures and music reproducing functions, a slide show function, etc., and access Internet by its own wireless LAN function to provide a function that can purchase digital contents online.
As described above, a highly functional personal terminal in various types of models have been launched on the market. A mobile phone, as a representative personal terminal, has various additional apparatuses and services similar to having a PC in the palm of the users' hands. Almost all mobile phones include a high definition camera, a terrestrial or satellite DMB function in addition to a voice communication function and includes functions, that are too numerous to mention, such as a GPS navigation function, a mobile office function, a game function, etc., in some cases. In addition, a portable multimedia player (PMP) having a specialized function separately from a mobile phone and a car navigation terminal have been developed at a significantly rapid speed. In a technical aspect, the PMP and GPS navigation terminals have a similar configuration of electronics part with an operating system using the electronics part, a middleware, etc., that are similarly configured. As a result, it may be said that the PMP and GPS navigation terminals are substantially the same. However, when they are finally vended to the users, other markets may be formed depending on where marketing is focused.
Meanwhile, the various personal terminals described above have been subjected to various technical evolving processes and rapidly expanded to the public. According to this tendency, apparatuses for providing digital contents to provide or vend multimedia contents, such as various movies, dramas, music videos, e-books, etc., which are being currently vended online, to a portable terminal offline have been actively developed.
The apparatus for providing digital contents described above is installed inside or outside a room where users are crowded and receives the corresponding digital contents from a central server using a wired data network according to a request of a user and transmits them to a Portable terminal. As a result, the apparatus for providing digital contents is an apparatus that charges for the contents.
The apparatus for providing digital contents provides contents data to the portable terminal of the user without separately paying for the use of wireless Internet (paying for the use of a packet), such that the user can conveniently receive the digital contents at lower cost and at the desired places as compared to a scheme for the users to receive the digital contents through mobile communication networks of existing mobile communication carriers.
Meanwhile, when the user is using the mobile phone, he/she purchases game contents that can be executed through the mobile phone using the following methods.
First, the user can purchase game contents using wireless Internet services that are provided from mobile communication carriers. In this case, the user separately bears the expenses of the game contents as well as the packet fee that should be paid for downloading the game contents. However, since the packet fee that should be paid for downloading the game contents is generally higher than the purchasing expense of the game contents, the user should pay a great deal of expenses to purchase one game contents. Further, the game providers that produce or hold the game contents consign the game contents to the mobile communication carriers to vend the games. At this time, since a plurality of game providers consign their own games to a very small minority of mobile communication carriers to vend the games, the game vending market for the mobile terminal is being operated in a very closed form.
As another method, there is a method of allowing the user to access the sites, that are operated by the game providers, using his/her own personal PC so that the user directly downloads the game contents to his/her own mobile phone. In the case of the method, the PC should be installed with the corresponding device driver so that the personal PC can recognize the user's mobile phone, and requires a data cable for a mobile phone for transmitting data. In addition, since the method should be subjected to complicated authentication and purchasing processes such as a member joining process, a log-in process, a payment process, it is very inconvenient to perform the above-mentioned processes using another person's PC, especially when not using his/her own PC.
As another method, there is a method of accessing other portable terminals, which have the same function and are compatible with each other, in wire or wireless to download and use game contents. However, since the contents are transmitted in different transmission form according to the terminal manufacturers, it is difficult to download the corresponding digital contents when the terminal is not manufactured by the same manufacturer.
Most users should purchase the contents using the wireless Internet services, which are provided by the mobile communication carriers, even though they pay for the usage right of expensive packets to the mobile communication carriers.
Meanwhile, in the currently marketed PMP terminal, various models include a touch screen display. These terminals provide various games to the users using a finger touch or a touch pen. In the case of the games used in the PMP terminal, the user accesses a service site that is operated by a company vending the corresponding products, downloads and installs his/her desired game to a memory card used in the PMP terminal, and inserts the memory card in the PMP terminal, thereby accessing the game. Even in the case, however, since the user should have a PC that can access the Internet, a memory card reader, and a memory card, it is known that the users physically on the move do not generally use the method.
Therefore, even in the case of the game providers that provide mobile game contents, because they can not secure efficient vending channels, the related industry is not active. As a result, small-scale contents developers or providers are likely to remain small businesses.